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Retirement Planning

Plan Ahead and Meet Your Retirement Needs

David James Robinson, Attorney at Law

“Am I on track to meet my financial needs in retirement?”

For many people, the quiet, subjective answer is “yes.” However, several objective measures indicate otherwise. Advancements in nutrition and health care have worked to help us live longer. In 2013, the average life expectancy for an American was 78.5 years. One in four people over 65, in 2013, will live into their 90s. At any age, we can make a plan that helps you reach our goals. At what age do you want to retire? Where do you plan on living? How much will you need to spend each month to sustain yourself?

I have worked with Medicaid and Medicare systems my entire career and can help you calculate your health care costs into your retirement plan. Medicare does not cover all of your potential health care needs. Also, there are deadlines for applying for Medicare Benefits.

If you hope that social security, by itself, will be enough to support you during retirement, you will be disappointed. Indeed, the Social Security Administration states clearly that Social Security Benefits are intended, and have always been intended, to be insurance, an addition to a fully funded retirement plan, not a substitute.

“My spouse and I will both collect Social Security. Will that plus our retirement savings be enough?”

Maybe. It depends on how well you saved during your working careers. What I can do is maximize your social security benefits. Depending on the income and age of each spouse, deciding when to elect to draw social security and when it is prudent to delay taking social security can make a big difference in retirement planning. Depending on each of your ages, health and hereditary potential for disease, and the amount each has contributed over your lifetimes, a plan can be made that maximizes your pay out from social security.